No.1 Autographic Kodak Special

Specification

Art Deco Credentials

Noteworthy: Worth giving special attention

• Produced just before the main Art Deco period;
• Bakelite side panels;
• Attractive crosshatch pattern on the bakelite sides;
• Seal skin leather body covering;
• Abundant use of chrome highlights;

Description

The No.1 Autographic Kodak Special is a folding camera with sliding rail deployment. Later models had the 'Model A' designation. The focus is adjusted using a sliding tab that moves the lens forward for shorter focus.

The Autographic Special offered a wide variety of advanced lenses for the time. This model has the Cooke Anastigmat f/6.5 lens. A variety of other lenses were offered including the Zeiss Kodak Anastigmat, the Ross Homocentric f/6.3 and the top of the line Zeiss-Tessar f/4.5 or f/6.3.

The shutter is labelled as a Velosto No.1 which was in fact a Wollensak Optimo No.1 shutter, relabelled for the UK market. The shutter is capable of 1/300 to 1 second duration together with both 'time'(T) and 'bulb'(B) settings. The slow speeds on the shutter were provided by a piston and cylinder dashpot, which can be seen protruding from the shutter housing at about the five o'clock position. The shutter must be primed by lifting a lever. There is a connection for a remote cable release.

It has a viewfinder with a revolving mask on the lens standard that can be adjusted for both portrait and landscape images.

The body of the No.1 Special has Bakelite side panels with an attractive molded crosshatch pattern. The rest of the metal body has distinctively patterned long grain calf leather covering.

To insert and remove the film, the camera's back slides open at the midpoint after pressing a round button near the ruby window. The back must be replaced the correct way round to lock and ensure light tightness.

The Autographic door on the back of the camera, allowed the user to write brief notes on the border of each exposed image. A stylus is used to write on the back of the film. The pressure of the stylus makes the back transparent. The light from the back then exposes the film so the notes can be imprinted on the film.

There are two tripod mount for portrait and landscape mode.

Links

The following links give detailed descriptions of this camera and it's history.
Kodak No.1 Autographic Special, Model A (1916)- Mike Eckman
Kodak No.1 Autographic Special, Model A - Mike Connealy

How to Use

This camera can take 120 film which easily available from photographic outlets.

Although the focus point can only be set to a maximum of 30 meters, the depth of field is such that objects at longer distance up to infinity will be in focus with any aperture setting between f/8 and f/32.

Shutter speeds can be varied from 1/300s down to 1 second and the aperture covers the range f/6.5 to f/32. To get the best out of this camera, a exposure meter should be used.